50,000 by Thursday
by PurpleTitan
Summary: Takes place during season 11.  Lindsey is grounded, and Catherine asks Sara to watch her while she is out.  But, thanks to an unexpected visitor, both Sara and Lindsey are kidnapped. *This is my first story!* NOW COMPLETE!
1. Teensitting

Takes place during season 11. Lindsey is grounded, and Catherine asks Sara to watch her while she is out. But, thanks to an unexpected visitor, both Sara and Lindsey are kidnapped.

Note: I own nothing, and all mistakes are mine.

**Chapter One**

"Nooo way Cath, nuh-uh, noooope!"

"Oh Sara, please! It'll just be for a few hours, and-"

"Catherine, I said no!"

The older CSI continued down the hall ways of the lab after the younger. "Oh, but Sara," She sang, "you owe me..."

Sara stopped and faced the older woman, shooting her a confused look. "For what?"

"Oh, you don't remember? While you were in Peru with 'Gilbert' last week, I got your mail, watered your plants…Oh! Plus, I was kind enough to give you the week off _with _pay-"

Sara held up a hand to silence the other woman, her heading drooping. "Fine. You win."

Catherine squealed in excitement, Sara only rolled her eyes. "What time do I need to come over?" She sighed.

"Just be there by eight thirty." Catherine smiled and the two continued to the locker room.

"Does Lindsey even know I'm coming over?" Sara asked. Catherine nodded, "but be warned, she isn't too thrilled about being baby-sat."

"Well, I wouldn't be either." Sara smirked. "So, what are the _yes _and _no's_?"

"Well, absolutely NO phone, no TV, no computer, and no friends can come over." Catherine explained.

Sara looked at her wide-eyed. "Gosh Cath, what _can _she do?"

This got a laugh out of the older CSI. "Well, she can eat, sleep, got to the bathroom," She looked at Sara and smiled evilly, "or she could talk to you about boys."

All this got was Sara's famous 'death stare' and a light slap on the arm. "Oh Sara, come on, you might have fun!" Catherine teased.

Sara got her things out of her locker and walked out "I'll be there around eight thirty, Cath." She called over her shoulder.

Catherine got off the couch at the sound of car doors shutting. "Please mom," Lindsey begged, "I don't need a baby-sitter!"

"Lindsey," Catherine said sternly, "you're grounded. She's not 'baby-sitting you, she's just making sure you stay out of trouble."

"I will stay out of trouble, mom!"

Catherine ignored her, and opened the door for Sara.

"Wow, Cath," Sara gasped, "you look nice."

Catherine smiled, "thanks again for this Sara."

"Its fine, Cath." Sara smiled back, "The only thing I was gonna do tonight anyway was call Gil and order take out." She chuckled.

Catherine stepped to the side to let Sara in. She showed Sara all the things she needed to know. She showed her the list of things that Lindsey could and couldn't do, where all the phones were; in case of an emergency, and lastly, she showed her where her gun was hidden. Sara knew the drill, but the thought of possibly needing to use it scared her a little; she'd never killed anyone before.

"So, uh...Where you going?" Sara asked innocently, trying to change the subject.

"Out to dinner, with my mother." Catherine explained.

"Oh, good." Sara said, "well, I hope you enjoy yourself, what time will you be back?"

"Oh…May be one, or two in the morning." Catherine replied casually, laughing as Sara's eyes grew to the size of baseballs. "Just kidding!" She laughed, "I'll be back around ten thirty."

"Ok, well, see ya then." Sara waved her good-bye as Catherine walked to her car.

"Have fun!" Catherine teased and got into the car. Sara rolled her eyes again and closed the door. _Let the fun begin _she thought.

The first hour went by quietly, to Sara's surprise. She got bored and started reading the book she'd brought with her. She made it to page 100 before Lindsey walked out of her room.

"Sara," She asked, "can I PLEASE watch TV?"

"I have strict orders form you mom to say no." Sara said, turning the page in her book.

Lindsey let out a frustrated groan. "What am I supposed to do, then?"

"I dunno, read a book, make a sandwich, go to bed. Don't rely on technology to entertain you, Lindsey." Sara said, not even looking up from her book.

"You sound like Mr. Grissom."

"He is my husband."

This got a grin, but Lindsey shook it off.

"I saw that." Sara smiled, shifting her eyes to the teenager.

That earned her a laugh, but it was quickly erased at the sound of banging, coming from the back door. "Go to your room." Sara whispered, "I'll be there in a sec."

Lindsey did as she was told (for once) and Sara snuck into the kitchen, grabbed the gun from its spot, and looked around the corner towards the back door. A large man dressed in black was headed right for her; she took off to Lindsey's room as quietly as she could.

She opened the door, locked it, and looked at Lindsey; who was sitting on her bed, looking like she'd seen a ghost. "Get in the closet." Sara whispered, "I'm calling for backup." She quickly pulled out her cell, and called it in.

"Patrol, this is CSI Sidle requesting backup at-" Was all she could get out before the bedroom door was kicked open.


	2. Gone

**Note: Rated T for language.**

**Chapter Two:**

"Patrol, this is CSI Sidle requesting backup at-" Was all she could get out before the bedroom door was kicked open, and Sara was looking down the barrel of a gun.

"Drop the phone!" The man shouted, Sara crouched down, and put the phone down.

_CSI Sidle, what is your position? _The officer responded. The thought of answering was so temping, but was too risky. This man was a _least _twice her size.

"Turn it off, NOW!" He shouted, louder this time.

_CSI Sidle, what is your position? Is the suspect armed?_

"Turn. It. OFF! Now! Damn it!"

_Sidle, is the suspect- _Sara clicked the phone off.

"Where's the kid?" The man asked as he grabbed a handful of Sara's hair.

"Wh-What kid?"

This earned a good kick to the ribs. "You know damn well who I'm talkin' about! Now, where is she?" He pulled her up by her hair, so he could look her in the eye; not that it was doing much good, he eyes were closed.

"I have… no idea... who you're… talking… about." She winced between breaths.

He was mad now. He flung her by her hair into the wall, and wrapped a hand tightly around her neck, and started to squeeze. "Where. Is. She?" He hissed.

The room started to spin, things started to go black. All of a sudden the closet door flung open and Lindsey was attacking the man, ripping the mask off his face. He released his grip on Sara, and used his back to ram Lindsey into the wall. He looked down at her. "You little brat!" he spat and kicked her in the stomach. A sudden sound from outside caught his attention briefly.

This was Sara's chance, she jumped on his back and smashed his head into the nearest wall, sending him to the ground and causing his forehead to bleed. She reached for her gun, but felt something cold get smashed into her temple.

"I wouldn't do that, sweetie." Another man said, he reached and took the gun from her, and flung it into another room.

"What do you want?" Sara whimpered.

"Justice."

Oook. That wasn't the answer she had been expecting, she opened her mouth to speak, but the man hit her on the forehead with the butt of the gun. She felt her warm blood trickle down her face, and drip onto the floor.

The last thing she heard were the men arguing and Lindsey's terrified cries.

Catherine pulled into the drive way, but upon exiting her car, she knew something was wrong. The front door was open; not just cracked, but _flung _open. She walked up to the door, and her heart sank to her stomach.

The living room was a total mess, the tables had been knocked over, her vase was smashed into a million pieces, a book (Sara's) was in the middle of the floor, and there were small drops of blood, leading to the back door.

Catherine didn't even think about disturbing the scene. She bolted inside, and ran straight to Lindsey's room, screaming for her and Sara. She wasn't prepared for what she saw inside.

Two blood pools; one on the wall, and one on the ground. Neither was very large, but was enough to be injured from. Lindsey's closet door was also flung open, and Sara's phone was on the ground.

_The phone! _Catherine thought, she fumbled with her cell phone, and dialed Brass's number.

"Brass," He answered.

"Oh my god, Jim! They took them! Someone took them!" She cried into the phone.

"Whoa, whoa, Catherine! Calm, down! Who are you talking about?"

"Sara and Lindsey! Someone took Sara and Lindsey!" She was sobbing now.

"What? Cath, where are you?"

"I'm at home, I-I-I came home and they were gone, Jim!"

"I'll be there with the others in ten minutes, Catherine." Jim assured the frantic blonde, "and, for their sake, get out of the house. We don't need any contaminated evidence."

"Please… just hurry Jim." She hung up, and cried into her hands. What else could she do? If something happened to Lindsey or Sara…

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of sirens in the distance. She calmed herself the best she could, and carefully walked out of the house. Once outside, reality hit once more, and the tears returned.

Pain.

A pain like never before.

The Mother of all migraines.

That was all Sara Sidle could feel at the moment, a throbbing pain that seemed as though it would never let up. She tried to place a hand to her pounding skull, but soon discovered that both her hands were tied behind her back. She let out an annoyed groan.

"Sara?" A little voice cried.

Sara's eye shot open at the realization that she wasn't alone. But the sight before her only caused confusion. Lindsey Willows, Catherine's daughter, was lying on the ground next to her, bound the exact same way. What was going on?

Then she remembered. It came in a flashback.

_She'd been watching her boss' teenage daughter as a favor. It had been quiet for about an hour, then, just as Lindsey asked to watch TV, a loud bang came from the back door. Then things got a little fuzzy. She remembered trying to call it in, then in a flash she was pinned against a wall, fighting for each breath she took in. _

_Then, all she remembered was Lindsey crying in fear, and another man starting to argue with their attacker. But that man was no hero, he was an accomplice._

Her flashback was ended roughly as the seemed to start rocking, and bouncing up and down. Were they in a car? Sara looked around and noticed they were in a very large trunk. One that was separated from the main part of the car, which meant that their conversation would go un-detected.

"Sara?" Lindsey asked, tears sliding down her cheeks.

"Sshh, its ok Lindsey..." She paused; talking didn't seem to hurt as bad as she thought it would. "I'm here, we're gonna be ok."

"I'm scared!" Lindsey cried in a whisper.

"I know… that's ok." Truth be told, Sara was just as scared as the teenager in front of her. But she couldn't show it, not if they wanted to get out alive. "Do you know where we are?" Sara asked.

"No…" Lindsey whined, "But I think we're in the middle of nowhere."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I heard cars earlier, like we might have been going through town or something but… Then it got really quiet, _too _quiet to still be in town."

Suddenly the car jerked to the right, sending the two rolling into each other. By the time they stopped rolling; Lindsey was on the opposite side of which she had been moments before.

"You ok?" Sara asked as the car steadied out. Lindsey nodded.

Then the car stopped. Voices could be heard from both sides, and they were headed towards the trunk. Both women scooted to the very back of the trunk. "Stay behind me, Lindsey." Sara ordered; not like Lindsey had a choice.

The trunk opened, and a ray of light illuminating the small area. She couldn't make out faces, but she could make out two large figures standing over them. One held a flashlight, and the other held what looked like a small, box like object. Sara's eyes began to adjust to the light, and she could see that it wasn't a box, but a camera.

_A camera? _She thought. _What is he going to do with a camera? _Before she could think of an answer, the first man; the one with the light, scooped her into his arms. Sara immediately started to kick and scream, but she was no match.

"No point in that, sweetie," He said, "Look around, no one can hear you…"

He was right.

They were alone.

In the middle of the desert.

"…And if you try and run, you'll end up the stomach of the vultures."

The thought of getting lost in the desert again made Sara go limp. That was one thing she never wanted to experience again.

She heard the other man pick up Lindsey, and give her the same speech as she screamed and thrashed about in his arms. Both were carried into a small building; it looked like an old abandoned house, and they were each placed in the same room; one that had a bed, a lamp on a shelf, and a bathroom, but were bound a second time and placed in the corner of the room.

Sara tried to get a look at the man, but before she could, tied a cloth around her head and in front of her eyes. He repeated this with Lindsey, and then pulled out the camera.

"Say cheese." He laughed evilly as the flash went off, startling both women. Sara listened as the picture printed out of the camera, and when he began to blow on it. Then he walked out of the room with his partner, to put his plan into action.

He set the picture down on his desk, and pulled out a yellow sticky-note. He grabbed the nearest pin he could find, and wrote; in his neatest handwriting, the _exact _instructions:

_We want $50,000 by next Thursday, midnight. That's five days._

_Drop off is at the burned down flower plant._

_Bring no police with you, or their dead._

_Bring no weapons, or their dead._

_If you want both of them back alive, you will follow these instructions exactly as they are._

_No tricks._

_But remember this, Catherine Willows:_

_Anything that happens to them is your fault._

Satisfied, he placed the note on the picture, and stuck it in an envelope. He wrote _Catherine Willows _on the front, and walked out to his car. First, he drove to the nearest gas station, and picked up some supplies. Then he drove to the first post office he could find, and mailed his note to the Las Vegas Crime Lab.


	3. The Search Begins

**Note: First off, I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed my story. Even though there are only a few, the feedback still means a lot! I will try and respond to every review I get. Thanks again to everyone, and don't forget to review! **

**Also, I'm sorry for any future delays. I'm a very busy person, and my time on the computer is limited. *I own nothing! All mistakes are mine!* Now, enough of my blabbing… please enjoy!**

**Chapter 3:**

_Saturday, 5:47 a.m._

"We want $50,000 by next Thursday, midnight. That's five days. Drop off is at the burned down flower plant…" read Dr. Ray Langston.

"…Bring no police with you, or their dead. Bring no weapons, or their dead. If you want both of them back alive, you will follow these instructions exactly as they are. No tricks." He paused.

"But remember this, Catherine Willows: Anything that happens to them is your fault."

"My fault?" asked Catherine Willows, "How the hell is any of this _my _fault!"

"Wait a minute," Nick Stokes interrupted, "How do they know your name?"

"How the hell should I know?" Catherine spat. Nick put his hands up in surrender like motion. "Sorry!" He said.

"No, _I'm_ sorry, Nicky, it's just…" She could feel the tears stinging in her eyes, and tried her hardest to keep them from falling.

She felt Nick place a hand on her shoulder. "Naw, its ok, Cath." He said, "I understand."

Catherine looked up at him and nodded, she knew he understood. She looked back at Ray, "Let's look at the picture again," She said, "Maybe it could tell us where they are if we get a closer look."

"I'll take it to Archie." Piped Greg Sanders, "Have you dusted it for prints yet?"

"Yes," Said Ray, "One on the front, four on the back, Mandy's running them now."

"What about the two blood pools?" Asked Nick, "Did we get any DNA from them yet?" Ray shook his head, "There still running."

"And the gun was mine," Catherine sighed, "It wasn't fired, and the only prints we got off it matched Sara's."

"Well, I get the picture to Archie; maybe he can pick up something." Greg sighed and walked out of the room, photo in his gloved hand.

There was an awkward silence for a moment, then Nick spoke up, "Uh…Catherine," He started, "Have you, um, notified Grissom?" Catherine nodded, closing her eyes. "Yeah, he's on his way. He…he said he'd be here by…" She looked at her watch. "By about nine in the morning."

That gave them roughly three hours to get as much evidence together as possible before he arrived.

What would she tell him, though? Was this _really_ her fault?

Nick seemed to sense she was feeling guilty, "Catherine," He said in a stern, yet tender voice, "None of this is your fault."

Catherine could have cried, right then and there, but her pager beeped; making her jump. "DNA results are in!" She said, and the three quickly walked down the halls to the DNA lab.

They were met by a stressed-looking David Hodges. It was very odd to see him like this; his manner was usually nosy, cocky, and unable to stop kissing up. The only time he wasn't his usual self was when he was thinking of his dear _friend _Wendy; who had left to be a 'field mouse' in Portland. Ever sense, he had moments where he just wasn't the same.

However, this was different. He look on his face was one of shock, and concern.

"I got something off of both blood pools," He started, "The one on the wall was male. But when I ran it, it didn't get a _full _match, but, it _did_ have enough in common with someone in the system to be a brother or father."

"Ok…who?" Catherine asked, making circle motions with her hands, signaling him to continue.

"Does the name Gerald Collins ring a bell?" He asked.

Catherine's eyes widened and a hand covered her gaping mouth. She felt as if she'd been kicked in the stomach. Her knees buckled and she all but fell into Nick's arms. "Whoa!" He gasped as he shifted to catch her. "You recognize the name?"

She slowly nodded, "y-y-yeah, I-I-I put him away just over a month ago for hitting another car while under the influence; the other driver was badly injured."

She felt hot tears begin to form in her eyes, and she couldn't hold them in any longer. "His brothers were pissed! I mean, you should have been at the trial…seen their faces… they swore they'd get-" She couldn't finish the sentence, but everyone knew what was next.

"Wait a minute, Cath…Do you remember their names?" Dr. Ray asked eagerly.

"Uuhh…" She thought aloud, tears still falling down her face, "Yes! Brian… and… Jacob Collins!"

"What about a description?"

She rubbed her eyes, "Not a very detailed one..."

"Well, what _can _you remember?" Ray asked.

"Both were white, about six two, and big; I mean, muscular. Probably weighed close to two hundred pounds. Brain had short black hair, brown eyes, and a small, black mustache, and Jacob had blonde hair, and…" She paused, and then sighed, "That's all I remember…"

Nick wrapped his arms around her, "That's plenty of details, Cath." He said, then look up at Ray, "I'll call Brass; and have him put out a bolo on Brian and Jacob Collins." He pulled out his cell, and started dialing.

"Wait!" Ray blurted, "What was the second blood pool?"

The satisfied smirk quickly evaporated from his face. "Sara's."

Nick's eyes closed and his nostrils flared. "I'm callin' Brass." He growled and placed the phone two his ear.

"Brass," Answered a hoarse voice.

"Jim, its Nick. I need you to put out a bolo on Brian and Jacob Collins. We think…" He paused, and turned to make sure Catherine was out of ear shot.

"We think they're the ones who have Sara and Lindsey." He whispered.

Brass listened as the CSI described both men. "Good job, Nicky!" He said just before hanging up, only to flip his phone open again, and dial another number.

"This is Jim Brass; I'm calling to put out a bolo on Brian and Jacob Collins…"

A noise woke Sara from her light sleep.

Or was it the feeling of someone grabbing and pulling at her arm?

She couldn't be sure.

Her eyes blinked rapidly at the sudden feeling of nails digging into her skin, and warm blood stating to creep onto her arm.

But what really got her moving was Lindsey shrieking her name.

"SARAAAA!" She shrieked.

For some reason, the blind folds and tape had been removed from both women, and Sara could see perfectly clear. _What idiots, _She thought.

But her thoughts only lasted for a few moments; Lindsey was desperately trying to hold onto her, and one of the men was trying to pry her from the older woman. Sara reacted immediately and kicked the man square in the face. Lindsey crawled away, and raped her arms around Sara like a child would do to its mother.

Sara instantly began to rock her, and rub the back of her head as if she really was a little child. "Sshh, its ok, Linds," She hummed, hoping to calm the weeping teen, "I won't let him hurt you."

"You little bitch!" The man snarled and grabbed Sara by her hair; only to get kicked even harder where the sun don't shine.

Backing them into a corner, Sara continued to cradle Lindsey until she had fallen asleep in her arms. But by then, the man had begun to walk towards her again. "If you _ever _want to have children," She growled, giving him her famous death stare, "I suggest you don't come any closer."

He seemed to think about this for a moment, then did the smart thing and left the room. Sara sighed aloud, and ran her fingers through Lindsey's hair; still trying to make her feel safe, even in her dreams.

_I _will _get us out of here, Lindsey_

_No matter what it takes, I won't let them hurt you_

Only then did she allow a few tears to escape her eyes, she'd held them in for too long, and the thought of not getting out alive was too much for her. What if something happened to Lindsey? Sara wouldn't be able to face Catherine again, and she wouldn't blame the older CSI if she didn't want to speak to her for the rest of her life.

Suddenly Sara could hear the two men arguing. She had to listen closely, but she once she could hear them, a smile formed on her face.

"Jacob! What the hell did you do?" One asked.

"I just wanted to have a little fun with her," The other; now known as Jacob, stated dumbly.

"Not that, you idiot! Someone put out a bolo on us!"

"WHAT? How do you know? What did they say?" Jacob screamed. Sara heard the other man shush him.

"I was at the convenient store about twenty miles down the road, and I saw it on the TV. It said: 'Jacob and Brian Collins wanted for questioning, if you have any idea of their whereabouts, please contact the LVPD.' Then they described us! How are we supposed to get food?" The other man; now known as Brian asked.

Jacob covered his face with his hands. What if they got caught? They'd never get Gerald out of jail!

"Nobody saw you, did they?" he asked, a hand still covering his face.

"I-I-I don't think so…Once I heard are names I was out of there!"

_This isn't good….This _isn't _good…._Jacob was pacing now. They need to get that money; and soon.

"I say we just dump 'um somewhere and run off to Mexico!" Brian said, pointing to the room where Lindsey and Sara were.

All this got was a slap to the face. "_How _can you say that?" Jacob hissed, "He's our brother! He'd do the same for one of us!"

Brian rubbed the red spot on his face. "Whatever," He sighed, "But the _second _I hear the cops, I'm out of here."

Jacob was disgusted. How could he let their brother rot in jail? It just wasn't fair, Gerald had been such a good man all his life, and then one bad decision ruins it all! Jacob just _knew _that that blonde cop (or whatever she said she was) had lied. His brother _wasn't _an alcoholic! This was a 'win win' situation: Get Gerald out of jail, and get revenge on the bitch that put him there.

The thought of revenge cast an evil smile on his face.

Originally, he'd planned on taking the daughter. But then, some stubborn baby-sitter shows up and ruins all his fun! Now what was he supposed to do with them?

_How… boring _he thought.

By then, the tears had stopped. Sara looked around the dark room, the investigator within her taking in every detail. She noticed a window to her right, but all plans of escaping were useless against its prison like bars.

Her head dropped slightly.

They were trapped.

She began to think about the conversation she'd over heard between the two men, and felt slightly relieved.

It _wasn't_ over.

They _were_ looking for them.

They _might_ just get out of this hell hole alive.

She knew that, eventually, one of them would have to go out get more food. Surely, someone would recognize them, and they'd be saved. Right? Maybe someone had already alerted the police? She placed her free hand over her eyes. All she was doing was getting her hopes up.

Hope.

That was all they had left.

Even if the window _was _free of bars, they were in some deserted house out in the desert. She remembered Lindsey claiming that she couldn't hear any more cars, and that she thought they were in the middle of nowhere.

_Or are we?_ Sara thought. She recalled one of the men saying he saw the broad cast at a convenient store about twenty miles down the road. Plus, if he used the car, there would be tire tracks….

A wicked smile played on Sara's face.

_Thank you, Lindsey_

Piece by piece things began to come together, and her smile grew wider.

She had a plan.

**Note: Sorry for the long delay! School, soccer, and sleep have taken up a lot of my time. I hope this was worth it! Please review… and I'm open for ideas if you have any. **


	4. Sara's Plan

**Note: I can't say how wonderful all of you are! The reviews are what keep this story flowing, and all the comments make my day! **

**This chapter starts off a little different; it may be confusing at first. (Also know that I just made up the convenient store name, I have no clue if there is a real one out there with that name. And that I just guessed on Lindsey and Sara's ages… lol)**

**All mistakes are mine and I own nothing.**

**And again, I'm sorry for delays…And remember to review! :)**

**Chapter 4:**

Carl Maddox was a rather tall, thin boy who had been working at the small 'Quick Stop' convenient store for almost three weeks. He needed the extra money, and this seemed like a good place to start; plus, he'd recently been kicked out of his girlfriend's house, and needed money to buy his own. So far, he'd had very few incidents that occurred on his shift.

That was about to change.

It was an early Saturday morning, and the sun had just begun to rise. Carl huffed out a bored sigh, and laid his head in the palms of his hands; He'd arrived for work roughly three hours ago, and had had only two customers come in so far. One of them had only come in to use the restroom. Even at this time of day, he'd usually have already had at least five or six customers come in by now! He was bored, simple as that. His boss had mentioned that sometimes business got a little slow. But he didn't think it would be _this _slow. But thankfully, the store was prepared. They'd had a TV installed just before Carl had joined; the guy whose spot Carl was filling had quite for a more exciting job. It was days like this that he usually enjoyed, but today was Saturday, and none of his favorite shows were on.

Sighing once more, he decided to watch the news.

Just then, a man walked in.

Carl tore his eyes from the TV at the sound of the door opening. "Good morning, sir!" He greeted a little too excitedly. The man only gave him a confused look, followed by a small wave, and headed for the drink section. Carl looked back up the TV as he heard a man's voice say "Breaking News!"

The screen went from that to a light blue, and the voice changed to a woman's. "An update on an Amber Alert," She began, "Jacob and Brian Collins are wanted for questioning about the kidnapping of seventeen-year-old Lindsey Willows and forty -year-old Sara Sidle," He listen as both men were described and watched as two pictures popped up, one having a dirty blonde haired female teenager, the other a dark brown haired woman. "If you have any idea of their whereabouts, please contact the LVPD as soon as possible."

"It's a shame what people do to each other, aint it?" He asked, turning to his third customer of the day; only to see him already out the door and jump in his car. Carl watched as the car quickly backed out of its parking space, and made a quick turn back onto the road.

_Wonder what _that _was about… _he thought dumbly.

XX

_Saturday, 6:18 p.m._

Catherine's mind was racing.

Grissom had called a few hours earlier, saying that his plane would be late. How much later, he didn't know, meaning he could be there any minute.

What was she supposed to tell him? _"Hey Gil, I asked your wife to watch my grounded seventeen year old because thought she owed me, and she got kidnapped." _Just didn't sound right.

Her thoughts were broken by the vibration coming from her pocket. She pulled out her phone, and; after glancing at the ID, answered.

She nearly ran down the halls to her office. The broad cast had been put out roughly three hours earlier, and Jim had just called and was supposed to be meeting her about some new information on Brian and Jacob Collins' whereabouts. But as she turned the sharp corner to enter her office, she bumped into an unexpected; but welcome, visitor.

"Catherine!"

She felt as though all the air had been sucked out of her. Tears threatened to fall from her blue eyes as she starred into his. She just stared at him, mouth agape, for what felt like an eternity. She tried to speak, but nothing came out. The sadness and worry coming for his sky blue eyes killed her. After long awkward moments of just staring at each other, he reached out, and embraced her in a hug.

"Gil…" She cried into his shirt; causing him to tighten his grip, "…I'm so sorry."

XX

Sara lifted her head from Lindsey's after feeling her move slightly in her grasp. She watched as the girl slowly opened her eyes, blinked a few times, and as reality set in once again, she began to shake.

"It's alright, Lindsey," Sara whispered, running her fingers through the teens hair, "I'm here."

_This _isn't_ alright! _Sara though. It felt very awkward trying to comfort Lindsey like this; and she shouldn't even have to _be _comforting her in the first place! They shouldn't _be _here at all! It just wasn't fair! What had either of them done? Nothing. That's what. Sara could feel the anger rising within her, and she let out an annoyed sigh.

"How long was I out?" Lindsey yawned, letting go of Sara and stretching her arms.

"I don't know…" Sara said, shaking her head to try and rid her mind of her angry thoughts, "two hours maybe? It's gotten a little darker sense you fell asleep."

"I had a dream that we got out of here." Lindsey said on a low voice, pulling her knees to her chin.

A tiny smile formed on Sara's lips. "Lindsey," She began, "We _are _going to get out of here. You mom has already put out a broad cast on us and they guys who took us. Plus-"

"How do you know she put out a broad cast?" Lindsey asked rather loudly.

"SSSHH! I overheard them talking. Anyway, Lindsey, I have a plan to get us out of here…but for it to work, you'll have to do exactly as I say." She watched as Lindsey's face changed from excited to confused. Sara took a deep breath; she knew Lindsey wasn't going to like the plan, but they had no other choice. It only took a few minutes to explain, but once she did, she knew she would have some trouble convincing the teen.

"How in the WOLRD are we supposed to do THAT?" Lindsey whispered loudly.

"Lindsey, you're just gonna have to trust me."

"What if it doesn't work? What if-"

"Lindsey, if they wanted to kill us, they would have done it by now. Plus, I heard them say something about their brother…I think they want some kind of money. So they _have _to keep us alive." Sara wasn't sure if that was true, but it she knew it made Lindsey feel better; it made her feel a little better too.

Lindsey slowly nodded, but then her eyes squinted as though she was deep in thought. "What?" Sara asked.

"Um…How are we supposed to, um…Clog the toilet?" Lindsey asked.

XX

Sara couldn't believe that her plan _worked_! She'd put a lot of thought into it, sure, but…It actually _worked_!

_I guess these two really _are _idiots, _she thought.

She tried so hard not to laugh as she replayed the situation in her mind.

"_Excuse me," Lindsey squeaked as one of the men (which Sara now knew was Jacob) walked in and headed for the bathroom._

"_What?" he spat._

"_It's clogged." Lindsey said, trying her hardest not to laugh as Jacob jumped into the bathroom, only to come out huffing angrily, staring them down._

_They'd stuffed just about anything they could find in the bathroom into the toilet at once; they couldn't do it themselves, being that neither had eaten in almost a day. That was only part one of Sara's brilliant plan._

_Jacob stomped out of the room. Shortly after, they could hear him yelling at Brian._

"_What are we gonna do now? The damn toilets clogged, and I'm NOT taken a shit in the sand!" He hissed._

"_As long as we're careful, we can use that convenient store." Brian whispered._

"_Well what about them?" Jacob asked, pointing at Sara and Lindsey's room._

"_We'll…have to take them." _

"_WHAT? Are you insane?"_

"_I don't know about you, but I don't want this place to start smellin' worse than it already does." Brian put his hands up in defense; neither man hearing the quit celebration going on in the other room._

_Brian pushed passed his brother and opened the door to Sara and Lindsey's room; but not before gabbing his gun and sticking it in the front of his pants._

"_Get up!" He shouted, walking over. He grabbed Sara's arm roughly and jerked away from Lindsey; who instantly jumped up and hid behind the older woman._

"_We're going on a field trip." He said, sounding rather disappointed. _

_Had he turned around, he'd have noticed both girls grin and look back to one another, indicating that step one in their plan was complete. _

Now here they were, sitting in the back seat of the car (and not the trunk) watching as the dirt road changed to gravel, then to solid concrete. Lindsey was staring out the window, and Sara took this as a chance to get a look at both their injuries. She couldn't see anything visible on Lindsey, other than a few tiny scratches on her arms; but she knew that the teenager had to have a few bruises on her stomach, after being kicked back at Catherine's house.

She looked at the window. Not to look at the desert scenery, but to try and get a look at the gash that she knew was on her forehead. She noticed that it had scabbed over, but couldn't get a good enough look at it to tell if it had become infected. She then; after making sure no one was looking, pulled up her shirt to see the black, boot sized bruise on her stomach and ribs. She put a little pressure to see if she could feel a broken rib; only to grimace silently as she could when pain shot through her mid-section. She looked up to see if anyone had noticed, she thanked herself that no one seemed too.

It was then that she also noticed the slight bruising around her neck. At first, she didn't know how she got them, and then she remembered the event that caused her to be there in the first place. It made her wonder how long they'd been gone.

Not wanting to think about it, she looked at the five nail-shaped cuts in her right arm; the ones Lindsey had given her. Those were the only injuries in her life that Sara didn't mind getting.

Sara looked out the front window, and saw the store come into view. She tapped Lindsey's leg and pointed with her head towards it. The teen responded with a nod.

"Ok, listen up!" Brian started, not noticing the silent exchange as he looked into his rearview mirror. "We'll only be in here for ten minutes, so no playin' around." Both responded by nodding their heads.

Sara's heart was racing. What if a different guy was working now? What if someone didn't recognize them? What if Brian or Jacob caught on? She nearly laughed at the last thought; if they hadn't caught on by now, they wouldn't catch on at all.

She couldn't help it when her heart rate increased as the car pulled into the lot, and parked a few spaces away from the entrance.

"Let's get this over with." Jacob sighed as everyone opened their doors and stepped out. They entered silently; the only sound being the cashier's "Good morning!"

Brian; after instantly recognizing the cashier, pointed Lindsey and Sara towards the ladies room while her and Jacob kept their faces pointed towards the floor.

"You have five minutes." Brian warned in a whisper. Sara nodded, that was the time they needed.

They entered; after seeing that the restroom had four stalls, and turned on one of the sinks, downing out their conversation.

"I can't believe that worked!" Lindsey cheered quietly.

"Sshh, do you remember what to do next?" Sara asked. Lindsey nodded.

After relieving themselves, both headed back to the sink and attempted to clean their faces. Sara winced as the icy water made contact with the wound on her forehead.

"I wouldn't pick at that," Lindsey pointed out, drying her face with a paper towel, "It could start bleeding again."

"I need to keep it clean." Sara responded, not taking her eyes off her reflection.

She pulled up her shirt again, trying to get a better look at the bruise. Lindsey stared at her wide-eyed. "Oh my…" She whispered, pulling up her own shirt enough to see a similar; yet smaller, bruise on her stomach.

"C'mon," Sara said, seeing the change in her younger friend's eyes, "I think our time it almost up."

They exited quietly and found the two men in the drink isle. After being pulled over, they headed to the cashier so the men could pay for their items.

"Ouch!" The young man exclaimed, staring at the gash on Sara's face, "That's one _nasty _cut you got there!"

Sara didn't respond, knowing it would only get her in trouble. Instead she looked up at the camera that was positioned over the cash register. Her actions were followed by Lindsey.

_He just looked at me! Why hasn't he said anything? _Sara thought, looking back at him. He glanced back up at her for a moment, then at Lindsey. A questionable look formed on his face.

"Have I seen you before?" he asked. The color from the other men's faces drained as the cashier began to recognize both women, his eyes growing golf ball sized.

"You're the two girls from the news! I saw you-" he stopped after looking at Jacob and Brian, realizing that Brian matched the description of one of the wanted men perfectly.

He began to slowly reach for the baseball bat that was hidden behind the desk.

He swung at the men; narrowly missing Sara as she grabbed Lindsey and dove to the ground. He managed to hit Jacob in the shoulder, sending him in the opposite direction of the two women. Sara covered Lindsey's body with her own, protecting her as best as she could.

Then Brian pulled out his gun.

Four gunshots could be heard, not that anyone was around to hear them.

Sara wand Lindsey (who were both still on the floor) watched horrified as blood began to leak out from under the desk.

Both men stared as Carl Maddox's body became surrounded by a pool of crimson blood, their mouths gaping.

It seemed as though they'd been standing there for an eternity, until Jacob put all of their (unpaid for) things into a bag, and headed for the door, shouting "What the Hell are you doing? LET'S GO!"

Brian grabbed a handful of Sara's hair, and threw her off of Lindsey. He focused the gun on Lindsey's head. "Get up, and don't try anything." He growled, glancing over at Sara.

Just before exiting, he switched the sign on the door to CLOSED.

**Oh no! Guess her plan wasn't as brilliant as she thought! I hope you're enjoying this so far, because it is so much fun to write! Please review!**


	5. Matter of Trust

**Note: Thank you to EVERYONE for the reviews! They all make me so happy, and they are what help me write (well…type) this story. I know 22 reviews isn't much, but still, each one means soooo much! **

**Big shout out to my BFF Krysta. She's the one who told me to go with it and write the story. **

**Without her, this story wouldn't be here! Thanks again buddy!**

**Note (count): I couldn't think of any of the Dayshift characters from the show, so I just made them up. **

**I own nothing and mistakes are all mine, blah blah blaaaaahh...**

**Chapter 5: **

_Sunday, 7:47 p.m._

"Are these the surveillance tapes from the convenient store murder?" Asked Carol Pratt; Dayshift supervisor.

"Yep," Answered Archie Johnson, who was rewinding one of the tapes, "I was just about to start watching, wanna join me?" She nodded, and pulled up a stool.

"Time of death was between six and seven o'clock yesterday, so start it around there." Carol said.

He did as he was told, and they began to watch.

Four people could be seen walking in, but their faces were blurry because of the distance between them and the camera. Two appeared to be female, the other two male. The women went to the bathroom for roughly four minutes, and then joined the two men.

The next scene caused both the lab tech and CSI to gape at the screen.

Just as the horrific scene ended, Greg walked past the room.

"Greg!" Archie called, Greg jolted to a stop and turned to face him with a 'what do you think I did now?' look.

"Greg, I think you should see this." Archie rewound the tape, and Greg was speechless.

"I've gotta find Catherine!"

In less than a second, Greg was running down the hall.

XX

"Cath, in all honesty, I don't think Grissom is mad at you." Nick said, looking at a very stressed Catherine.

Catherine and Nick sat in the break room. Neither had had much sleep in the past two days, and they still had close to no leads on the case. Everyone on the Nightshift had put in several hours of overtime; refusing to hand the case over to days. It had been a very long two days, and everyone was close to collapsing.

"He should be." She sighed, "I mean, it kind of _is _my fault that Sara got put into this. If I'd just stayed home, then-"

"Then we'd be looking for _you _and Lindsey."

She looked up at him, he had a point.

"I just…can't help but feel sorry." She said in a hushed voice; and mainly to herself.

"Catherine, you don't need to apologize for anything. None of this is your fault." Grissom said as he came walking into the room; startling both Nick and Catherine.

"Gil-" She stopped at the sight of Langston walking into the room.

"I've got the fingerprint results, but it only confirms half of our theory."

"Half?" The three asked in unison.

"All five prints came back to Jacob Collins. He was in the system for a B and E about ten years ago. So, it really isn't anything new."

"So we _still _don't have a lead." Nick said in a frustrated tone.

"What if we don't get anything by Thursday?" Catherine asked, slightly panicked, "I don't have fifty thousand dollars just layin' around in the bank!" She looked down at her watch, it was now eight o'clock.

Grissom placed a reassuring hand on Catherine's shoulder. "I'm sure if everyone pitches in, we can get enough."

"No way, Gil. I'm not going to beg everyone for money. They shouldn't have to pay for something they had no control over." She said, rubbing her face with one hand.

"Cath," Grissom started, but before he could explain, Greg came bursting through the door, his face slightly red, and he was out of breath.

"You guys gotta see this." He breathed, and guided the four of them back to Archie's lab.

"Carol?" Catherine asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I was working a case," She began, "It was a murder at an old convenient store, we got the tapes back and…well, I thought you'd want to see this." She pointed to the screen, signaling Archie to press 'play'.

"Oh my god…" Grissom breathed as Sara and Lindsey looked straight at the camera. He could almost feel his heart stop as they both dove to the ground, and the cashier swung his bat at the two men, hitting one of them.

All of their eyes widened as the man who was still standing pulled out a gun, and shot the cashier four times.

Catherine nearly fainted when the man with the gun slung Sara into a nearby shelf, and put the gun to Lindsey's head.

"Did you get a shot of their car?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, just give me a sec…" Archie said as he pressed several keys on the keyboard, and a new shot appeared. The man had one hand pointed at Lindsey, and the other on Sara's arm. He through them both in the back of the car, and the headed out of sight.

"Zoom in on the license plate!" Catherine said pointing at the car.

Again, Archie mashed some keys and the screen zoomed in on the license plate.

"Archie-"

"I know, I know, I'm looking it up." Archie said as he pulled up a different screen on his computer, and typed in the plate's code.

"Car's registered to a Brian Collins."

A wide smile spread across Langston's face. "There's the second half of our theory."

"What's his address?" Asked an anxious Greg.

"No, don't look at the address," Grissom protested, "see if he owns anything. Like a cabin or something."

"Says here he owns a small cabin…" Archie couldn't help but grin, "About twenty miles up the road from the convenient store."

Before anyone could respond, Catherine had already whipped out her cell phone, and began to dial Brass's number. After giving the detective the directions, she hung up. She glanced back down at her watch, it was now eight fifteen.

_We've got 'em _She thought, and for the first time in almost three days, she smiled.

XX

Sara hurt in a lot of places; her head, her stomach, her arms and her legs, but the place she hurt the most, was her heart.

She didn't think it was possible to feel this horrible.

_I told her she could trust me…_

She couldn't stop the one tear that fell from her eyes as she looked at Lindsey, who was lying on the ground, holding her stomach with one arm, and rubbing it with the other.

The poor child was now covered in bruises. Sara had done so well to protect her, but now…

…_Now she looks like she should be in a child abuse commercial._

And so did Sara.

After the incident at the convenient store, they'd both been beaten as some sort of 'punishment'. Sara had tried her best to protect Lindsey, but (even when she was trained in weaponless defense) she was no match against the two men.

Even though that had been a day ago, it still hurt as though it was only a few moments ago.

She prayed that someone was looking for them.

She didn't think-no, she _knew- _that they couldn't take much more of this.

_It's all my fault…_

…_I told her to she could trust me…_

…_I should have known better._

She wanted so badly for this to all be over. She wanted to just go home and see her husband's bright blue eyes, and smiling face. She wanted him to kiss her, and feel his beard tickle her face. She wanted him to hold her, no matter how bad it hurt.

But if this torture continued, none of that would ever come true.

The thought of never seeing Gil again caused more tears to slide down her cheeks.

She thought of the last conversation that they had together. She felt a little better knowing that she'd told him that she loved him.

_But I didn't get to say goodbye…_

She leaned her head back against the wall as the tears continued to fall.

She looked out the window, and noticed that the sun had already set. Had they really been gone for only two days? It felt so much longer, and their condition made it _look_ even longer.

She looked back at Lindsey, who seemed to have fallen asleep. She looked nothing like the spunky teenager Sara had seen two days before. Neither had eaten anything in since Friday, and it was starting to show on both of them.

"I'm so sorry." Sara cried in a whisper, closing her eyes, and falling into a dreamless sleep.

XX

_Monday, 12:02 a.m._

_I _can't _wait…_

…_I'm a murderer now…_

…_They're looking for me…_

…_It's only a matter of time…_

…_I have to leave _now_…_

…_It's now or never…_

Brian was pacing in the front room. Jacob had fallen asleep hours earlier, and he knew that this was going to be his only chance. He knew that the cops must have discovered the body by now, and it was only a matter of time before they found the cabin, and arrested them.

_No, _Brian thought, _they're going to arrest Jacob, I'm not going to be here. _

With that, he quietly grabbed the keys off the couch, and headed out the door. He looked over his shoulder one last time; noticing Jacob still sleeping on the couch, and closed the door behind him.

_This was all _his _idea anyway. It's _his _fault that I'm here in the first place._

_What did Gerald ever do for me anyway? _

_Nothing._

_So why should I risk _my_ life to help _him_? _

He stuck the key into the ignition, and started the car. The headlights lit up the surrounding area.

"Damn!" He swore out loud, quickly turning the lights off and pulling out of the driveway.

Once out, he slammed his foot on the gas, and headed in the opposite direction of the city.

He was headed to Mexico, and _no one _was going to stop him.

XX

Lindsey woke to a sharp grumbling in her stomach. She'd never been this hungry before; then again, she'd never gone this long without eating. Her eyes still closed, she rolled onto her back, and let out a quiet moan as pain shot though her body.

Suddenly the room became much brighter, and she could hear the sound of an engine running. She opened her eyes, and noticed a light coming in through the window. She got to her knees, and (even though it hurt like Hell) she crawled over to Sara, shaking her gently.

"Sara," She whispered.

"Lindsey?" Sara asked, opening her eyes, "Are you ok?" She nodded.

"Someone's outside." She said, pointing to the window. Both got to their knees and peered out into the night. Suddenly the lights switched off, and they could see a lone figure in the front seat.

"Are…are they leaving us?" Lindsey asked, looking up at Sara.

"No…only _one_ of them is." She answered after not seeing anyone else in the car.

"Why wouldn't he take his brother?"

"Because he's a killer now," Sara said, looking back at Lindsey. "If he's caught, he gets put away for life, may be even the death penalty."

"But why leave his brother?"

"Payback for getting him into this mess."

The car was out of sight now, and the room fell silent. Sara leaned her back against the wall, and allowed herself to slide back down to the floor, covering her face with her hands. She felt Lindsey place a hand on her shoulder, she looked up and faced her.

"We're going to get out of here," Sara said, looking into the teen's eyes. "I promise." She looked up at the ceiling, remembering that she'd also promised that she wouldn't let the men hurt Lindsey.

_Look how _that_ turned out _She thought, looking at her bruised arms.

"I know," Lindsey smiled back, giving Sara's shoulder a light squeeze, "I trust you."

**Aaww, what a sweet moment! So sorry for the long wait, I hope this was worth it! Remember to review! ****J**** I'm thinking about going back and naming these chapters, should I?**


	6. Rescued?

***Cries* I can't tell you how much all the new feedback means! They make me laugh (in a good way) and really inspire me to keep going and come up with new ideas and twists. I'm so glad that I've gotten all these wonderful reviews, I can't thank you all enough!**

**I'm sorry it took me so long to get this up. This week had been very hectic for me, and I've had a lot going on. This chapter went through a lot of changes, it took me a while to get it how I wanted it. I hope this chapter was worth the wait!**

**Disclaimer: Mistakes are mine, and I own nothing.**

**Chapter 6:**

_Monday, 3:02 a.m._

Jacob stirred in his sleep; something could be heard in the distance, but to a sleeping man, it could be anything. It was very faint, but it was coming closer, and two different; yet similar tunes could be made out. Soon, one of them was playing in his head.

_Weeee wooooo, weeee wooooo_

His eyes shot open, only one thing could make that sound.

"Brian!" he shouted, getting to his feet. He looked around, but his brother was no where to be seen. His eyes landed on the arm of the couch, where the keys had been. Been.

"What the-" he was cut off as the sirens screeching tune came closer.

_That…that… _He couldn't contain his anger, and kicked over a nearby stool.

XX

_Crash!_

_Weeee wooooo _

_What the Hell?_

Sara's eyes fluttered open. At first, she thought her ears were playing tricks on her; with the lack of food and being smacked around, who wouldn't? But after a moment of listening, she was positive she could hear…_something._

Or rather some _things._

She listened again, and her eyes grew twice as large.

"Lindsey!" She said in a loud whisper, shaking the teen. Lindsey's eyes snapped open with a "whaaat?"

"Listen!" Sara said as the sirens came closer, a smile spread on each of their faces.

"Ohmygod! Ohmygod!" Lindsey almost yelled, tears of joy sliding down her face.

"That's right, Linds," Sara smiled, cupping Lindsey's face with her hands, and letting tears fall down her face as well. She wrapped her arms around Lindsey, allowing her to cry into her shirt. It was over, they were gong to get out. Their happiness came to a stop as the door swung open, a frantic looking Jacob standing in the middle.

"Don't move!" He shouted, pulling something from his back pocket. He approached them and grabbed Sara's shoulder, pinning her against the wall. He pulled out a knife and held it to her throat.

"Put up a fight, and you're dead." She nodded, eyes wide with fear.

She could hear him ripping some sort of fabric, and felt him tie her hands together. He then wrapped it in duct tape; just to be safe. He did the same to her feet, and covered her mouth with duct tape. He repeated this with Lindsey, and dragged both women into a nearby closet. He slung Lindsey in first, and then Sara. He pointed the knife at them.

The sirens sounded as though they were right outside the door.

"If you so much as _sneeze_," He growled, his voice low, "I'll-"

The sirens stopped.

"You'll find out later," he spat, making his message clear by kicking Sara into Lindsey, causing the CSI to let out a breathless, pain filled cry.

XX

_A few hours earlier_

_Jim Brass paced back and forth in his office. It had been nearly three days, both girls were still missing, and they had _no _idea where they could be. He rubbed his forehead with his hands, knowing he was getting a headache. His phone buzzed in his pocket. After reading the ID, he flipped it open._

"_Catherine?" He asked, a hint of hope in his voice._

"_Jim, we've got it! We've got an address." She replied, he was amazed at how calm she sounded._

"_Just tell me where, Cath."_

_After hearing the address, he rubbed his temples in frustration. _God, that's right in the middle ofnowhere_, He thought. "You're _sure _that's the location?"_

"_As sure as I'll ever be," Catherine responded, "how fast can you get out there?"_

"_It'll take a while, Catherine," He paused, "but I promise I'll get there as soon as I can." He paused again, he could hear her sigh of what sounded like relief on the other line, "and I'll have the entire LVPD behind me." He smiled into the phone._

"_Thank you… Jim." Catherine replied, her voice hinting an unspoken question._

"_I'm on it, Cath." He didn't even need to hear it to know what she was going to ask, "I'll be at the lab in less then ten minutes." He hung up, and nearly sprinted to LVPD front desk._

But that had been hours ago.

It had taken him nearly an to get his officers together, swing by the Crime Lab to pick up Catherine and Grissom, and find an ambulance.

It took them another three to get them all off the Strip, through town, and to find the right road (even with his sirens on).

This place really _was _in the middle of nowhere.

But, finally, they passed the little convenient store, and Brass accelerated. After only five minutes, a small, worn-down-looking cabin came into view.

It wasn't until he could see the blue and red lights of his siren reflecting of the house that he realized they were still on.

"Jim!" Catherine shouted from the backseat, "turn off the sirens!"

"Shit!" he swore aloud, flipping off the sirens. The other cars had done the same within a matter of seconds.

Catherine nearly panicked when she noticed that there was no car in the driveway. _Calm down_ she told herself, _they could have ditched it_

Brass pulled into the driveway. His heart pounded in his chest. This was it.

_We're ready when you are, Captain Brass, _came the voice of one of his officers out of his radio.

"Follow my lead," he said after a pause, he looked back at Grissom and Catherine.

"You two follow _after _the rest of the officers."

And with that, he quietly got out of his car. Pulling his gun from it's place, he pointed it at the door, walking ever so slowly towards it. The rest of the officers copied his actions, and they got into position as Brass knocked on the door.

"LVPD! Open up!"

XX

"_LVPD! Open up!"_

"Las Vegas PD?" Jacob replied, pretending that he was unaware of the two injured women in his closet.

He quickly grabbed his gun, and tossed his knife on the couch, hiding the gun in the front of his pants.

Grissom and Catherine's blood boiled.

"Cut the crap, Collins." Brass snapped back, noticing the raged expression on the former CSI's face, "Now, open the door."

"I think you mean: Open the door, _please_."

It took all that Catherine and Grissom had not to run up and kick down the door.

"No." Brass was losing his patients, "I meant what I said: Open the damn door, before I do."

This time there was no reply for a while.

"I thought I told Ms. Willows not to bring the police…" Jacob finally responded, his voice sounding more distant than before.

Catherine's heart stopped.

"What?" Brass whispered to himself, looking back at Catherine with a _when did this happen? _expression on his face

"Or else they'd die…Guess she didn't think I was serious."

Just before the door was kicked in, a scream could be heard from the back room.

XX

"_LVPD! Open up!"_

_Oh, oh thank God! _Sara thought, instantly recognizing the voice.

She listened to the entire conversation, from Jacob's horrible attempts to lie, to him suddenly begin to walk back to their room.

She heard the door to their room open, and she leaned protectively over Lindsey, who whimpered when the closet door opened. Sara's eyes widened as he pulled out the gun.

_Oh God, please… no…_ She felt tears burning in her eyes.

"I thought I told Mr. Willows not to bring the police…" Jacob said, aiming the gun at Sara's head.

"Or else they'd die…" He smiled evilly, Sara now allowed the tears to fall. "Guess she didn't think I was serious."

Lindsey lost whatever cool she had left, and screamed. Jacob starred at her, momentarily distracted, lowing the gun ever so slightly

This was he chance.

She lifted her still bound feet and kicked him in the groin. He dropped the gun and fell to the ground. "You little bitch!" He shouted, pulling her out of the closet and smacking her head with the gun, knocking her unconscious, just as his brother had done a few days before.

He aimed the gun at her head.

XX

A high pitched scream echoed in Catherine's ears.

She didn't have to be in the cabin to know who they were coming from.

"Lindsey…" She said in a voice just above a whisper, tears forming in her eyes.

Brass and the other officers raced down the hall of the cabin, kicking in doors. All but the one at the end of the hall had been checked.

"_You little bitch!" _Brass heard someone yell from inside the room.

Brass kicked the door open just in time to see the assailant smack Sara with the gun, and aimed it at her head.

"Drop the weapon!" Brass shouted.

Catherine and Grissom came running to the door. They were speechless…thoughtless, even.

"Sir," Brass said, his voice remarkably calm, "drop the weapon, no one needs to get hurt." _More than they already are._

The gun drooped slightly as Jacob looked up at the detective.

Sara stirred slightly, murmuring sheepishly.

"I'm afraid I can't do that."

He pointed the gun at his chest, and pulled the trigger.

"Shit!" Brass shouted from inside the room.

He bent down, feeling Jacob's pulse, then Sara's.

There was a pause before he spoke again, "someone get the paramedics!"

**Muhahaa, I'm so mean! Sorry, this was going to be longer, but things felt…I dunno, weird. I edited the ending for this chapter like six times, no lie. I really, really hope you all liked it! Sorry for the long delay again, time has not been on my side. Sorry for the cliffhanger…hehehe.**


	7. Thinking Of The Other

**Note: I am so, so, so, soooo sorry for the delay. I have had no spare time these past few days. Forgive me? **

**Thanks to everyone for reviewing! **

**Disclaimer: Characters are not mine.**

**Chapter 7:**

Sara was awakened by a sudden, powerful headache.

Her eyes were still closed, but she knew she was in a hospital.

The smell of bleach assaulted her nose, and the brightness of the white walls was visible through her eyelids; and if that hadn't been enough of an indicator, she could hear a machine making beeping noises at her side. She let out a sigh of relief; they were finally safe.

Then it hit her.

_Lindsey! _

Where was she?

Was she okay?

What happened?

The last thing she remembered was the door swinging open, getting smacked with the gun, and hearing a gunshot…

_Oh no…_

Had Lindsey been shot?…Was she…?

_Oh God…please, no_

"Lindsey…" She said in a voice just over a whisper.

"Sara?"

Her eyes shot open, but quickly shut themselves. The bright lights of the room were to much to handle at such a fast pace. She started to panic, who was in the room with her? Well, whoever it was, she felt them reach out and hold her hand, saying "easy now, Sara."

Her fear washed away, she knew who it was.

"Gil." She whispered as she slowly opening her eyes.

"Its me, honey." He smiled, rubbing her cheek with his thumb, careful not to disturb any of her wounds.

Tears burned in her eyes as she leaned up to hug him, but she quickly fell back onto her pillows from the pain that shot through her. He cupped her face with his hand again while the other held her hand tightly.

"I missed you so much." She cried into his hand.

"I missed you too, Sara." He replied, tears forming in his eyes to.

All she wanted to do know was have him hold her and forget about everything that had happened over the past few days, but she needed to know if Lindsey was safe. She pulled away from him, looking him in the eyes.

"Gil," She paused, she wasn't sure if she could handle the answer, "w-where's Lindsey?" she finally asked.

When he didn't answer immediately, she panicked. "Please, please tell me she's okay." She said, tears sliding down her cheeks cried.

Grissom smiled and rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs again. "She's fine, Sara. Bruised up, but fine. Catherine's with her now."

"Thank goodness." Sara cried, covering her hands with her face as Grissom wrapped an arm around her, and ran his fingers through her hair with his free hand.

XX

No words could begin to express the emotions Catherine had felt in the past twenty-four hours.

First there had been fear, and nothing but heart stopping fear.

The fear that she'd never get to see her daughter or friend again, the fear that they'd be to late.

She thought back to the moment at the cabin, when Jacob Collins had shot himself. The bullet had exited his chest and went flying into the closet. The panic she'd felt when she realized Lindsey was hiding there was almost enough to knock her to the floor. There had only been a tiny bit of relief when she saw the bullet hole in the closet wall, a good foot above Lindsey's head.

Then there had been impatience.

The forever lasting ride to the hospital, the hours it seemed to take the doctors to tend to Lindsey and Sara, and the plain annoyance of watching a Swing shift CSI process her daughter (which she was sure Grissom had done when the same one processed Sara). All she wanted to do was hold her, make sure she was okay, but the Swing CSI had strictly said that it would contaminate evidence from Lindsey's body.

_To hell with the evidence _Catherine had thought, they already had enough to charge them with kidnapping, murder, and god knows what else.

After that came guilt.

It might not have been her fault for getting _Lindsey _in this (she knew they'd go for her whether she was alone or not), but it was her fault for getting _Sara _in it. No matter what Grissom, Nick, or anyone else said to her, she felt that this was her fault. It was her fault for asking Sara to watch Lindsey. She wouldn't blame Sara if she wanted to leave the CSI team again. Even if she stayed, she wouldn't be surprised if Sara never spoke to her again.

Now, sitting in the small, white hospital room, watching her daughter's sleeping form, Catherine Willows felt helpless.

She'd done everything within her power to find and rescue her daughter and friend, but now all she could do was wait. All she wanted to do was hold her, but she knew that Lindsey had had little to no sleep in the past few days. She sat for hours, until, finally, Lindsey began to stir. Shortly after, she opened her eyes.

XX

Her eyes may have been closed, but Lindsey was wide awake now. At first, she didn't want to open her eyes; that was the best sleep she'd had in days, and she didn't want it to end. But she didn't know where she was. All she knew was that she was no longer in that dirty old cabin.

After feeling around, she knew for a fact that she was in a bed; not her bed at home, but a bed. She could also smell bleach, and a lot of it. It was also very bright; even with her eyes closed. After listening for a moment, she heard a light beeping from the side of the bed. Was she in a hospital?

Wait, where was Sara? She felt the presence of someone else in the room. She slowly opened her eyes, and she could make out a blurry figure at the side of her bed.

"Sara?" She asked.

"No, Lindsey." A familiar voice responded.

"Mom?" She blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the brightness of the room. After a moment, she could make out the figure next to her. When her eyes adjusted, she saw that it was her mother.

Not Sara. Where was Sara?

Her mind went back to the cabin. The last time she saw Sara was when she was smacked unconscious with by Jacob's gun, and held at gunpoint. Then out of nowhere, Jacob shot himself, and fell to the ground. The rest was blurry, but she recalled the three of them being loaded into an ambulance, and that was it.

"Sshh, it's me, baby." Catherine whispered, running her hand through her daughter's hair. Lindsey didn't respond, she just stared past her mother. All she could think of was Sara, and where she might be.

"Lindsey?" She asked, shaking her slightly, "what's wrong, honey?"

"Where's Sara?" Lindsey asked in a panicky voice.

"Calm down, honey," Catherine said, holding Lindsey's face with her hands, "she's fine, Grissom is with her. She's safe."

Lindsey let out a much needed sigh of relief, and leaned into her mothers welcoming embrace. Mother and daughter held each other tightly, allowing the other to cry for what seemed like an eternity. Lindsey fell asleep in Catherine's arms after some time past. Catherine continued to hold her daughter for a while. But eventually, she too fell asleep.

For the first time in a long time, Catherine felt relieved.

XX

_Monday, 7:53 p.m._

It had been hours sense the first time Sara awoke in the hospital. Both she and Grissom had dosed off numerous times, but now, both sat in the hospital room, wide awake.

"Brass is waiting outside," Grissom began, holding his wife's hand, "are you ready to give him a statement?"

She nodded, "I best get it out while it's fresh, y'know?" She forced out a laugh.

"I'll be right back." Grissom rose and walked out the door. She could hear him having a conversation with someone; she assumed Brass, before re-entering, this time with the old, fatherly detective in toe.

"Hey, Sara," he said with a smile, reaching over to hug her as gently as possible.

"Hey, Jim." she smiled back, leaning into his hug.

He paused for a moment, not sure what to say next. _How are you feeling? _seemed like a dumb question.

So instead, he went with "Are you sure you're ready for this, Sara? If it gets to hard, I'll-"

"Jim, it's fine. I want to get it over with." She assured him.

"Okay.." He sighed. No point in arguing with her now.

"Where do you want me to start?" She asked him.

He pulled out his pin and notepad. "Start back at Catherine's. When did things go wrong? Don't leave out anything."

"Well, Cath had been gone for about an hour when I heard a noise from the back door."

"What kind of noise?"

"A bang." He nodded for her to continue.

"I told Lindsey to go back to her room; she did. I went and grabbed the gun-"

"Gun?" Brass asked.

"Yeah, Catherine showed me where it was before she left." He could detect a _just in case _in her voice.

"Anyway, I grabbed it, looked around the corner and saw the man running towards me. I went up to Lindsey's room and told her to hide in the closet. I locked the door, and was trying to call it in when…" She trailed off for a moment, "when he kicked the door in."

"Good," Brass said in an encouraging voice, scribbling on his notepad. "What happened next?"

"He made me shut off the phone, and he grabbed by hair and kept asking 'where's the kid?'. When I played dumb, he kicked me in the ribs." She felt Grissom tighten his grip on her hand.

"He asked me again, and when I still didn't tell, he pinned me against the wall and-" The look on Grissom and Brass's faces stopped her cold. She could see mixture anger, surprise, and fear etching it's way onto their faces.

"He tried to strangle me," She said, almost in a reassuring tone. She knew very well what they thought he did to her.

"What next?" Brass sighed.

"Lindsey came running out of the closet and jumped on him. She ripped the mask off his face, and… he rammed her into the wall, then kicked her in her stomach" She watched Brass write on his notepad, then waved his hand for her to go on.

"He got distracted by a noise, and I jumped on him. I smashed his head into the wall and reached for the gun, but someone else put a gun to my head. He took the gun from me. I asked him what he wanted, and he said 'justice'."

"Justice?" Grissom and Brass asked in unison.

"I didn't expect that either." She admitted. "Anyway, before I could respond, he hit me with the gun and I was out." She said, putting a hand on the now bandaged wound on her forehead. "I woke up in the trunk of a car, and Lindsey was beside me. We were both bound. I wasn't awake for long before we stopped. Two guys pulled us out, and when I tried to fight, one said it was useless because we were out in the middle of nowhere. They put us in the corner of a room, then blindfolded us. I heard him say 'say cheese' and heard the camera go off. He walked out of the room and we just sat their until I dosed off..." She said, a hint of guilt in her voice for falling asleep.

"You're doing great, Sara." Grissom assured her, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"I woke up and Lindsey was digging her nails into my arm," she pulled up her sleeve and revealed five small cuts. "One of the men; I think his name is Jacob, had unbound both of us and was now trying to pull Lindsey away from me. I kicked him in the face and grabbed Lindsey. He grabbed my hair, but I kicked him in the groin. That stopped him for a while, when he tried to come back a few minutes later, I threatened to do it again, which sent him out of the room. I overheard him and his brother yelling, saying someone put out a broad cast, and then I came up with an idea to try and get us out."

"I explained it to Lindsey-"

"Wait, what _was_ you're plan?"

"Shove anything down the toilet and hope that they were dumb enough to take us to that convenient store they talked about." She said rather plainly.

"Oh," Bras replied in a _didn't see that coming _tone.

"Well, fortunately, they were. Once we got their we went to the restroom, then, once they began to pay for their items, we looked at the camera by the register. The cashier recognized us and tried to swing hit bat at them, but…" She trailed off.

"It's okay Sara," Brass said, putting a hand on hers; the one Grissom wasn't squeezing, "I saw the tape, tell us what happened once you left."

"They through us in the car, and once we got back to the cabin… they just… went absolutely crazy!" She growled, tears starting to form in her eyes. "They beat the Hell out of us, I tried to protect Lindsey, but," She paused as single tear made it's way down her face, "they were to strong. I felt so horrible."

"It's alright, honey." Grissom whispered as he wiped her tears from her face.

"I can come back later if you'd like," Brass suggested.

"No, I want to get this over with." She took a deep breath before continuing. "We just sat their for the rest of the day, crying ourselves to sleep after a while. Nothing else really happened the rest of the day. But early the next morning Lindsey woke me up and we saw one of them leaving in the car. I knew something was up, but we were both drained and fell back asleep. I woke up later after hearing a loud crash, and what sounded like sirens in the distance. I woke up Lindsey, but then one of them came back in the room, bound us, and through us in the closet. I guess you know the rest." She finished with a long sigh; it felt good to get all that out of her system.

"That was excellent, Sara." Bras smiled after finishing what he was writing on the notepad. He stood and hugged her again. "I'm gonna get Lindsey's statement, and I'll be right back, ok?"

Sara nodded with a small smile. "Wait, Brass!" She called as he opened the door. He turned to face her.

"Tell her I said hi."

**TBC!**


	8. Tearful Statement

**Note: The beginning of this chapter is going to be Lindsey's statement. Now, before you start thinking "it's the same as Sara's", you might want to read it. Why? Well, remember those few times Sara was asleep/unconscious? **

**Chapter 8:**

"Lindsey, wake up honey." Catherine whispered, shaking her daughter slightly.

For probably the first time in her life, Lindsey woke up right after her mother asked her to.

"Do I get to go home now?" She asked hopefully. Catherine shook her head.

"Not yet. Do you remember my friend Jim Brass?" Lindsey nodded, "he's waiting outside. He has to get you're statement on what happened. Do you think you can do that?"

"Uuhh…I-I-I…don't know."

"Do you want me to tell him to come back later?"

"Uuhh…No, I wanna get it over with."

"That's my girl." Catherine smiled, kissing her daughter on her forehead. She walked over to the door, opening it to revile the wrinkled detective.

"Hey, kiddo!" He smiled at her.

"Hi," she smiled back.

"You think you're up for this?" He asked, she nodded.

"Alright," he responded, pulled out his notepad (the same one that had Sara's statement) and pin, saying, "be as detailed as you can be."

"Okay," She took a deep breathe and closed her eyes for a moment, her mind going back a few days, back to her house, where it began.

"I was in my room for about an hour after mom left. I walked out to ask Sara if I could watch TV-" she paused after seeing the _oh really?_ look on Catherine's face.

"She said no, and we sat there for a minute before we heard a loud crashing sound from the back door." She waited for Brass to finish scribbling on his notepad before continuing.

"Sara told me to go to my room; which I did, saying that she'd be there in a sec. I ran to my room and waited a minute before she came back. She told me to hide in the closet while she locked the door. I could see her on the phone through a crack in the door. I don't know who she was talking to, she was talking in that weird 'police talk'. Anyway, that's when the door was kicked in."

Again she waited.

"He kept telling her to turn her phone off, and once she did, he started asking 'where's the kid?'. I…I think he was looking for me.."

_He was _Catherine thought sadly. "What happened next, honey?"

"She kept saying she had no idea who he was talking about, even after he kicked her." She paused briefly after hearing the sudden gasp that came from her mother before continuing. "When she didn't say, he pinned her against the wall and started to choke her. I ran out and jumped on him, and he-" She stopped slowly pulled an arm over her stomach.

"He rammed me into the wall." Her eyes began to burn, and she quickly blinked back the tears.

"I just dropped to the floor, and he kicked me in the stomach. I heard something from outside, and when I looked up, Sara had jumped on _him _and banged his head into the wall. Just then another guy walked in, and put it to Sara's head. After she started asking questions, he hit her with it and… knocked her out… she started bleeding…" She choked back a sob.

"Those two guys started arguing, saying stuff like 'what do we do with her?' and 'she shouldn't have been here' and 'we can't just leave her'. Then they looked back at me. One of them smacked me, telling me to shut up, then he held my arms and legs while the other tied them. They tied Sara up, and took us out to the car. I fought back, but I wasn't strong enough. The only thing I did was end up knocking stuff over." She looked back at her mother, "sorry about the vase.."

"It's okay, Linds." Catherine laughed, smiling at Lindsey.

"Anyway, they through us in the trunk of their car. We drove around for a while, and then I couldn't hear anything. Finally Sara woke up, but she wasn't up for long before we stopped and they took us out. They tied us up in the corner of this nasty old room. One of them took a picture of us, and then they left. We just sat their for a while, until I-well, I think both of us, dosed off. I woke up when I heard the door open."

Her hands started shaking.

"He unbound me and Sara, then took off our blindfolds. Then…he started looking over her, touching her. When he started to unbutton her shirt, I slapped his hands away, then her looked at me. He started calling me 'baby' and 'sexy' and…" She closed her eyes, trying to hold back her tears.

"He started to touch _me_, trying to pull off my clothes. I couldn't get him off of me, when he tried to drag me over to the bed, I grabbed Sara's arm. She woke up and kicked him off of me."

Had she looked up, she would have seen the shocked and disgusted looks coming from Catherine and Brass. _Sara didn't say anything about him touching her; only Lindsey. She must not know…_

"Did you tell Sara what he was trying to do?" Brass asked.

Lindsey shook her head, tears now falling freely down her face. "I was to busy crying…I just…should I have told her?"

Brass only shrugged. "Did he get any further than that? I mean, further than touching you?"

"No, he tried to pull her away, but I held on and she kicked him again. He left after that, and I fell asleep." She said with a long and tired sigh.

"You're doing awesome, Lindsey." Brass smiled at her as he finished writing on his notepad.

"I woke up about two hours later; according to Sara. She said that she heard them saying something about a broad cast, and that she had a plan. She said we had to clog up the toilet and try to get them to take us to some convenient store down the road. We shoved God knows what down the drain… and it worked! But…once we got there, they-"

She started to shake again.

"It's alright," Brass said, holding a hand up to silence her, "we saw the tape. What happened after you left?" He asked as if he didn't already know. He knew it was going to be hard for her to talk about it, but he needed it for a conviction. If he could only think of an easier way to do this…

"Wait!" He near shouted as she opened her mouth to speak.

"I…I know this is going to be hard for you, so, I can do something a little different." The questionable look on her and Catherine's faces told him to go on.

"I already talked to Sara, so I already have her statement; right here." He said, waving the notepad around. "I can read it to you, and you can fill in any blanks? It isn't very long, so feel free to add anything."

She thought it over for a moment, then nodded.

"Alright," he flipped back a few pages.

"According to Sara, once you walked out of the store, they through you in the back of the car, and once you got back to the cabin, they went 'absolutely crazy'." He watched as she nodded in response, and as a confused look spread on Catherine's face.

"Sara's words, not mine."

He really didn't want Catherine to hear what happened next, but what could he do? Kick her out?

"She says that they, uh," Wow, this was going to be harder for _him _than he thought, "beat the Hell out of you two, and that she tried to protect you, but they were to strong." He shot a quick glance at Catherine, who seemed lost in thought.

"Did she leave anything out?" He asked.

"No…" Her mind sent flashes of the vicious attack. Images of Sara jumping on her attacker, only to be ripped off and punched by the other. Of her taking punches for her. The thoughts forced her tears to slide down her face.

"She saved my life," She said just over a whisper.

Even though it was to herself, it was heard by Catherine and Brass.

"Can you continue from there?" He asked, bringing her out of her daze.

"Yeah," she said, shaking her head as though it would knock the horrible thoughts out of her heard.

"Nothing really disturbed us again until early the next morning. Well, I _think _it was morning. I don't know, but anyway, I heard what sounded like a car starting, and the room got very bright. I woke up Sara and we watched one of the guys leave in the truck. I didn't tell her-" she thought for a moment, then when on.

"Well, I don't think I told her, but I was scared. I thought they were ditching us or something, but she promised me she'd get us out of their." The tiniest smile ever pulled at the corners of her mouth. _And she did _she thought.

"Before I knew it, I was out again. She woke me up a little while later, and we heard sirens outside. But then the other guy came running in, threatening us and tying us up again. He through us in the closet, and walked back to the door. We heard him talking to you," she nodded towards Brass, "then we heard him come back. He opened the door and pointed a gun at us. Then he said…" She paused, looking at her mom for a moment.

"'I thought I told Ms. Willows not to bring the police, or else they'd die. I guess they didn't think I was serious.' That's when I lost my cool, and started screaming. He stared at me for a moment, then Sara kicked him and he dragged her out of the closet by her hair. He…smacked her with the gun, and that's when you got there."

"You did great, honey." Catherine said, she too was in tears now.

Brass, feeling that his presence was no longer very necessary, stood and walked to the door. "Get well soon, Lindsey." He smiled, patting the edge of her bed as he walked by. Just as he opened the door to leave, he stopped.

"Oh, and Lindsey," he started, waiting for her to look up at him.

"Sara says hi." He smiled.

She laughed lightly in response. "Tell her I said thanks, for… everything."

He winked at her, "I will"

XX

_Tuesday, 9:49 a.m._

Sara's first day in the hospital was over in an instant. She'd seen many smiling faces; the nurse's, her husband's, and most of her friend's/coworker's. The events that had happened just two days before were starting to feel like a distant memory with all of the smiles and hugs.

Nick and Greg's visit had to have been her favorite. They'd brought her favorite take out food, which was heavenly compared to the hospital food she'd been eating. Ever time she took a bite of the stuff, she wanted to slap the cook.

But, even with the comfort of her friends, she still wasn't completely happy.

Their were two faces she still wanted to see.

Lindsey and Catherine.

She understood why they hadn't visited her yet. Lindsey was still recovering, and Catherine would never leave her daughter's bedside.

Still, she wanted to see them.

Brass's kind words still lingered in her mind.

_Brass had left nearly two hours ago to get Lindsey's statement. Even though he said he'd 'be right back' she knew it would take a while. _

_She didn't mind, though, because this gave her some alone time with her husband._

_They'd been sharing yet another much needed kiss when a knock echoed through the small room and the wrinkled detective peeked inside. _

"_Am I interrupting?" He asked._

"_Kind of," Sara laughed, pulling away._

"_Good," He responded, "or else this wouldn't be any fun."_

"_Ha, ha, ha," Both Sara and Grissom said in unison._

"_Well, it's getting late, so I'll make this quick." He walked over to Sara, pulling her gently in for a hug. "Get better soon, Dol."_

"_I'll try," She chuckled as he walked back to the door._

_Grissom reached his arms out, attempting to pull her in for another one of her kisses he'd missed so much more than usual these past few days. Just as Sara started to lean into his embrace, Brass stopped._

"_Oh, and one more thing, Sara." He called. _

"_Yeah, Jim?" She asked, leaning slightly towards her pillow._

"_Lindsey say's thanks."_

It brought a smile to her face.

She blinked her eyes slowly, trying to get used to the bright lights once again.

"Sara?" A feminine voice asked.

It took her a moment, but after some thought, she recognized the voice.

She blinked her eyes a few more times, setting them only the blurry, blonde haired figure sitting next to her bed.

"Hey, Catherine."

**TBC!**


	9. Welcome Home

**Chapter 9:**

"Hey, Catherine." She greeted in a hours voice.

"Hi," Catherine smiled.

"Where's Gil?"

"Getting some food, he needed it." She answered, emphasizing the word 'needed' "feeling any better?"

"You know you're the first person to ask me that?" Sara asked, laughing.

"Huh, wow." Catherine laughed as well.

"I'm doing much better. Which reminds me, how's Lindsey?" Sara asked with a hint of concern in her voice.

"A lot better." _Wow, this is going pretty well._

There was an awkward silence. Sara looked down at her hands, remembering something that had happened at the cabin.

_It _was _going well, _"Sara? What's wrong?"

She looked back up at the older CSI, eyes teary with concern, "Catherine…was somebody shot?" She asked.

Catherine let out a sigh, but not one of relief, "Yes, Jacob Collins. But he was the one who pulled the trigger."

"He committed _suicide_?" Sara asked, slightly alarmed. Catherine only nodded. Sara leaned back into her pillow, absently asking, "why?"

"Because he's a coward, Sara." Catherine said, placing a comforting hand on Sara's shoulder. She looked back up at her, tears clearly visible in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Catherine said, her eyes beginning to sting, "I didn't mean to get you into this, I-"

"Cath, don't." Sara put up hand to silence her. "I don't care what _anyone _has told you. _None _of this is you're fault."

Finally Catherine was able to believe that. It truly _wasn't _her fault.

"Besides, if anyone should be apologizing, it's me." Sara said in a quieter tone.

"What?" Catherine asked, bewildered.

"I know that everything is okay now, and everyone is safe. But Lindsey got the shit beat out of her because of my stupid 'plan'. If I hadn't said anything-"

"Then you'd still be stuck at that cabin." Catherine interjected.

She had a point. "I know, I just… I just can't help it."

_Wow, _Catherine thought. Those had been nearly the exact same words she'd said herself only a few days before.

"Sara, I said the exact same thing while you and Lindsey were missing. I felt so guilty, but, now I understand that I couldn't have known that those men were going to come and do what they did. They were going to get Lindsey no matter what, and-" she paused, feeling the lump form in her throat and the tears filling her eyes.

"Sara, you brought my baby back home. She may be bruised, but she's going to live. I don't think I can ever repay you."

"You don't have to," Sara's own emotions were getting the better of her, "I know you would have done the same."

Gently, Catherine reached out and pulled Sara into a hug, whispering, "thank you," in her ear.

"You're welcome," Sara whispered back, leaning into the comfort of her pillows once more.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, causing both women to jump. "Can I come in?" they heard Brass call.

"Yes," Sara said in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Hey," he said, opening the door, "I'm about to make your day, and you greet me like _that_?" He said with a small laugh.

"Wait, what?" Sara asked, not seeing the humor in the conversation. Catherine, too, was rather confused.

"Brian Collins was just arrested."

XX

He didn't understand it. His day had been going so well; everything was going as he'd planned. Why did he have to let his guard down?

How could he be so stupid?

_The two small bells hanging from above the door chimed as Brian walked into the grocery store. Pulling his cap down slightly, he waved at the young, curly haired cashier. He needed to make this quick. The sun would be up in less than an hour, meaning more people would be around, meaning someone could recognize him._

_Gotta get moving, gotta get moving, he thought as he walked through the isles._

_He quickly grabbed his things, and ;after looking to see if there were more people, stepped into the young cashier's line._

"_What brings you here so early, sir?" She squeaked, picking up a can and bagging it._

"_Uuh, just wanted to pick up some things before it got to crowded." There. He didn't lie, did he?_

"_No need to worry sir, not much traffic around here," she bagged another item, "the most people I've ever seen in here at once is ten."_

_That's still quite a few, he'd thought. He looked outside, noting that the sun was starting to shine over some nearby trees. Gotta get moving, gotta get moving…_

"_That'll be fifteen dollars and twenty cent, sir." Her squeaky voice broke his thoughts, but he didn't stop looking out the window as he handed her his credit card._

_She scanned it, and nothing happened._

_She scanned it again, nothing happened._

_Looking back up at him, she paused. _

_She'd seen him before. But where?_

_She glanced down at a small drawer just below the register. A white piece of paper was sticking out, one that a rather old detective had given her sometime yesterday. Pulling it out, she nearly fainted._

_BRIAN COLLINS. WANTED FOR QUESTIONING ON THE KIDNAPPING OF 17 YEAR OLD LINDSEY WILLOWS AND 40 YEAR OLD SARA SIDLE. IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON HIS WHEREABOUTS, PLEASE CONTACT THE LVPD AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THANK YOU. _

_Holyshitholyshitholyshit_

"_Is there a problem?"_

"_Uh…uh…no, sir-well, yes, your card isn't working." She sputtered out. "Give me a sec, I'll get the manager." She crumbled the paper into her pocket, and headed for the managers room._

"_No, wait! You don't have to-"_

"_Company policy, sir," she lied over her shoulder._

_She nearly knocked the door off it's hinges as she ran to her manager. "Mr. Wheeler! Mr. Wheeler!" She whispered loudly, grabbing his shoulders roughly._

"_What the hell, Amanda?" He said, shaking her off, clearly caught off by her sudden gesture._

"_This man," She said, pulling the picture out of her pocket, "is at my register!" she half cried._

_He peeked out of the small window, and sure enough, the man in the picture was standing (rather impatiently) at his young employee's register._

"_His card wasn't working, so I told him I'd come get you. What should I do?" She was starting to panic._

"_Alright, now, calm down," he started, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder, "I'll call the police, and we'll keep him until they get here. Go out there and tell him I'll be there in a moment."_

_Taking a deep breathe, and putting on a fake smile, she walked back to her register. "He'll be out in just a sec."_

"_Look, I could really just pay in cash," Brian said, rubbing his eyes in frustration._

"_Oh, here he comes!" She pointed towards the door as Mr. Wheeler walked toward them._

It had all gone down hill from there.

Now he sat in the interrogation room at the LVPD with a steamed looking Captain Brass standing on the other side of the table. He lifted his hands from the table, rubbed his chin with a single finger, and laughed lightly.

"Y'know," he began, still scratching his chin, "I don't think I've ever arrested a suspect dumb enough to walk into a store with his own WANTED picture in one of the windows." He laughed a little harder, causing Brian to look down at his feet in embarrassment.

"Back to business," Brass said, his tone much more serious, "we've got a truck load of evidence against you. You kidnapped two people, both of which said you assaulted them, and we have you _on tape _murdering Carl Maddox. Need I go on?"

No response.

"Now all that's missing is the 'why'." He began again.

"Well, according to the CSI's, it was to get your brother Gerald out of jail. Is that correct?"

No response.

"Y'know, it might help if you cooperate."

He seemed to think about this for a moment, looking down at his feet again. But he finally looked back up at the detective, and nodded.

"And to get back at that bitch blonde who put him there." Brian growled, looking at the table.

It took everything Brass had not to jump across the table and strangle this moron.

"You are aware that it was _his _fault that he was put away, right? Ms. Willows was only doing her job."

"So? He's never done anything wrong before in his life!" Brian crossed his arms like an angry, spoiled child, "he didn't deserve it."

"Hey, _he _made the choice to drive while under the influence, _he _hit the other car and _he _put that other driver in a wheelchair for the rest of his life!" Brass yelled out coldly, slamming his hands down every time he said the word 'he'. "He deserves everything he got, and you deserve everything you're gonna get."

"What about Jacob?" Brian asked, "he was part of this too! What's his punishment?"

"Spending the rest of his 'afterlife' in Hell." Brass said. Had the mood not been so heated, he might have smiled.

"W-what?" He sounded like his breath had been knocked out of him.

"Your coward of a brother capped himself before he could even be arrested."

"Oh…oh my God.." Brian covered his face with his hands.

Brass; not taking Brian's attempt to be devastated, looked at the officer at the door, mouthing 'book 'em'. After reading Brian his rights (though he didn't think he deserved them) he left, a sense of relief washing over him.

It was over.

It was _finally _over.

XX

_Wednesday, 11:16 a.m._

Sara anxiously pulled her T shirt over her head. Today was the day. She was going home.

Beside her was Grissom, who patiently waited for her to finish putting on the cloths he'd brought for her; one of her old, comfy T shirts and some loose black sweatpants. She didn't look her fanciest, but at the moment, neither cared about either of their appearances. She'd asked him to bring her something comfortable, and he did. That was all she cared about at the moment.

"You ready?" Grissom asked, wrapping his arms around a now standing Sara, planting his hand on her waist.

"Very," she smiled, placing her hand on his.

He opened the door of her hospital room, and together they stepped into the disinfectant scented halls of the hospital. She was still sore, but according to the doctor, she could go home as long as she stayed in bed. She had no broken bones (to her amazement) but she did have some severely bruised ribs. But most of the bruises on the outside of her body had begun to fade, which helped make the events that caused them fade as well.

"Is Lindsey leaving, too?" Sara asked, looking up at her husband.

"I think so," he replied, "Catherine said she'd be leaving with Lindsey soon, we could wait if you'd like."

"I would."

So they waited. They stood by the front desk, waiting for Catherine and Lindsey to come walking down the hallway. Sara hoped that it wouldn't be long, but if she had to, she'd wait forever.

Suddenly two figures could be seen walking down the hall. One taller than the other, with a protective arm wrapped tightly around the smaller one. Sara instantly recognized them.

"Hey," She called as they got closer.

Hearing her voice, both looked up, smiling once they saw the couple. "Glad to see you standing, Sara." Catherine smiled.

"It feels good." She looked down at Lindsey, "how you feelin'?"

"Better," Lindsey shrugged.

After a moment of silence, Grissom pulled Sara towards the exit, "we should head home," he said.

Each group walked to their cars; which were parked rather close to each other.

"Get better, Linds," Sara called as she opened her door.

"You too!" Lindsey smiled, waving happily at her.

After buckling up, she leaned into the leathery comfort of Grissom's car. The ride home went by quickly and quietly. Grissom helped her out of the car and up the stairs into their home. Once inside, Sara walked as fast as she could and collapsed into their bed.

The clean, cool sheets greeted her as she tucked herself underneath them, placing her head on her fluffy and feathery pillow. She inhaled deeply through he nose, taking in it's clean scent, and closed her eyes. She could feel Grissom slid into bed behind her, and wrap one of his strong arms securely around her.

The last thing she remembered was him whispering in her ear, "welcome home," and planting a kiss on her cheek.

After that she fell into a blissful sleep.

**TBC!**

**I am so sorry for the long delay! I has benchmark testing all last week, and went to compete for my Art Olympics team on Friday. Had to baby sit and go to Outback on Saturday, and had a friend spend the night. And the past few days I've been drained and have tried very hard to get this up before Thursday. I hope it was worth the wait.**

**Note: There will be 1 or 2 more chapters plus an epilogue. **


	10. Peace Of Mind

**Note: This is the final chapter before the epilogue. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, mistakes are mine (blah blah blah) **

**Enjoy!**

_Every goal, every action, every thought, every feeling one experiences, whether it be consciously or unconsciously known, is an attempt to increase one's level of peace of mind.-Sydney Madwed _

_Thursday, 7:50 a.m._

The sun creped in from behind the blinds, hitting Catherine directly in the eyes. It woke her almost instantly. Stretching, she leaned up, pulled one leg over the other and got out of bed. She tiredly walked to her daughter's room, where she was happy to see her sleeping soundly.

She had the next three days off, and she planned to spend most of the time with her daughter. She wanted to make her breakfast, but it was still early. Lindsey wouldn't be up until at least ten. But that was just her _normal _wakeup time.

_Who knows when she'll get up, _Catherine thought as she walked back into the living room and plopped down on the recliner.

Closing her eyes, she allowed her mind to wonder.

It was Thursday, the day she was suppose to get fifty thousand dollars, and free Lindsey and Sara. Yet, this was their first day back home. _How ironic_. Had it not hurt her so much to remember, she might have laughed.

She wondered if it was too early to call Grissom. She decided it didn't matter, he should spend time with Sara; not on the phone with her. _Maybe I'll watch some TV…_

"Brian Collins was finally arrested yesterday; after kidnapping seventeen-year-old Linds-"

_Or not_

She closed her eyes, rubbing her temples as a dull pain moved to her skull. She didn't often get headaches, but when she did, they hurt like Hell.

Her eyes opened at the sound of a muffled cry coming from her daughter's bedroom. She instantly got to her feet and walked rather quickly to the bedroom door.

"Linds?" She called, knocking lightly.

"Yeah?" Came the muffled response.

"Are you ok, honey?"

"Yeah." Lindsey responded in a shaky voice.

Catherine entered the room and walked over to the bed. "Linds, don't lie to me. What's the matter?" She said as though Lindsey was five again.

"Nothing. Just a bad dream."

Catherine brought her daughter in for a hug, trying not to put to much pressure onto her back.

"Don't worry. They'll fade in a few days."

"I know, it was just… so real."

"What happened?"

"I… I was sitting in this dark room with Sara, and it was like we glued to the floor. We couldn't move. Then we heard this weird laugh, and that guy-the one who took us-walked up with a gun in his hand and said 'guess she didn't think I was serious' and… then I woke up."

Catherine sighed, remembering what Brian had said to them at the cabin. "I'm sorry, honey."

"I know it's stupid, but it just felt so real. I…" She looked down at her blanket, "I don't wont to keep having these dreams, I don't know if I can take it."

"Lindsey," Catherine said, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder, "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."

XX

_9:04 a.m._

Sara woke to the smell of pancakes coming from the kitchen. She smiled, and made an attempt to stretch, but winced as pain shot through her. She slowly settled back onto her pillow, closing her eyes, and patiently waiting for Grissom to return.

After a few moments, she heard the door squeak open. She opened her eyes, but saw nothing.

"Gil?" She called, her voice quiet and scratchy.

Nothing.

"Gil, this is _not _funny!" He voice was a little louder now.

Next thing she knew, a blur of brown and white leapt onto the bed, and began licking her face. She couldn't help but laugh, it had been a while since she'd last seen their dog; he'd been living with her and Grissom when they moved, but after she came back to Vegas, she left Hank with her husband.

"Hey, Hank!" She smiled, scratching behind his ear. Hank simply continued to lick her face. "I missed you too, buddy."

Hank let out a whimper when she stopped petting him, and pawed at her, his paw landing on her ribs.

"Ah! No Hank," She quickly pulled his paw off, "not for a while, buddy."

Hank whined again, resting his head on her shoulder and licking her face a few more times.

"Sara, is her bothering you?" came Grissom's voice.

"No, just accidentally put his paw on my stomach, but he's fine."

"Well," he said after a pause, entering the room "he needs to move, because these are for you." He showed glanced down at the tray in his hands, which contained a plate fully of syrup coated pancakes.

"You spoil me."

After whistling for Hank to get down, he smiled at her "you, and only you, my dear." He set the tray down on the bed looked back up at her. "Do you need any help sitting up?"

"No!" She said a little defensively, "I'm not paralyzed, Gil."

He watched as she used her arms to push her upward, only to grit her teeth in pain.

"You may not be paralyzed, Sara, but you're in pain. Let me help." He said, wrapping one arm softly around her back, the other scooping her up from under her legs. After settling her back onto the pillow, he stacked two more on top of it, making it more comfortable for her.

"Thank you," she smiled at him.

After finishing her meal and Grissom finished washing the dishes, they sat together in bed, watching TV, and Hank sleeping soundly between them. Grissom was flipping channels, when he passed the News channel, and a picture of Brian Collins popped.

He quickly changed it, but it was to late. She'd seen it, and now her eyes were no longer focused on the TV, but her hands. Even after watching close to thirty minutes of a rather peaceful program, she still didn't look away from her hands.

"I-Sara," He shifted, trying to get a better look at her face, even though she didn't look back. "What's wrong?" He couldn't think of anything else to ask.

"I can't stop thinking about the trial. I…I'm sure they'll nail him but… I just don't know if I can take it. Seeing those eyes again…" Her eyes started to burn, and she instinctively blinked away the tears.

He wrapped his arms around her, and she cried into his shoulder for the next several minutes, causing Hank to stir in his sleep.

The trial wasn't for another week, and Sara had the next two off.

It was going to be a _long _fourteen days.

XX

_One week later_

The entire Night Shift CSI team sat in one of the many rows of the court room. Lindsey and Sara had both already been up to the stand and were asked multiple questions, and now both were struggling to keep it together. The CSI's had already presented all of there evidence, and of course, Brian had been up to the stand as well.

But there was no doubt about it, they _were_ going to get him.

Still, they were all nervous.

Sara could barley breath.

The one hour lunch break had just ended, and with almost everyone back in the court room, all that was missing was the judge.

Sara shifted slightly in her seat. She'd just looked behind her, only to see the dark eyes of Brian Collins staring her down. She nearly jumped out of her seat trying to turn back around. Grissom, wondering what caused Sara to jump, looked over his shoulder and noticed Brian. He squeezed her hand tighter.

She wasn't sure when she'd dozed off-she didn't even remember closing her eyes-but suddenly, Grissom was shaking her awake. After blinking a few times, she realized the judge had walked into the room, and was now seated.

Sara thought she might faint when he pointed to the jury, saying something she couldn't hear-not because she was to far. A single man stood, holing a small sheet of paper in his hand. She suddenly felt very hot, and shifted in her seat again.

Everything became silent.

This was the moment they'd been waiting for.

"Your honor," he began, looking at the judge.

Sara could have sword everyone leaned forward at the sound of his voice as he said, "we, the jury, find Brian Collins guilty of all charges."

Sara felt as though the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders.

She could breathe again, and she finally felt at peace.

**Sorry for the shortness, I didn't want to leave a huge cliffhanger. Keep your eyes open for the epilogue! **


	11. Epilogue

_One week and to days later, Saturday, 3:44 p.m._

"Lindsey!" Catherine called, "are you almost done? We still have to pick up everybody."

"Yeah," she heard from Lindsey's bedroom.

It was nearly three weeks since the abduction, and two since Lindsey and Sara had returned home. Lindsey had spent most of the first week in bed, and towards the end began walking around the house. In the second week she was able to leave the house. She was going to return to school on the coming Monday.

Her physical recovery was going great, all that remained was a small; almost invisible, bruise on her stomach. She could now move freely without pain, and could breathe much easier, too.

As for _mental_ recovery…

Catherine had worried that the kidnapping would harm Lindsey more than just physically. She was worried about Sara as well; after remembering what happened with Natalie. But according to Grissom, she's been coping very well. But, unfortunately, Lindsey wasn't as lucky.

First, there were nightmares.

Catherine would wake to either screams or cries for help coming from Lindsey's bedroom. The first time it happened, she ran down the hall; fearing her daughter was in danger, but after entering her room, all she could do was wake her daughter, comfort her, and go back to bed. It happened four more times, only Catherine wouldn't jump out of bed and run to Lindsey's room. Instead, she would calmly get out of bed, put on her robe, and walk to Lindsey's bedroom.

Finally, on Lindsey's sixth night home, they stopped.

Then there had been the fear.

Before the trial, Lindsey didn't dare to go out alone; not until she was _positive_ that Brian Collins was in locked away for good. Even after the trial, any shadow or any unknown noise would send Lindsey running to her room, shutting the door and locking herself inside for several minutes. And there had been many times were Lindsey would see someone who looked similar to Brian, and (depending on her location) would either run back inside her house or hide in the nearest bathroom until Catherine assured her that it wasn't him.

Eventually, that too faded.

Lastly, there had been the therapy.

Catherine hoped that talking to someone other than a family member, would help Lindsey's fragile mind. The first two trips had ended with Lindsey in tears, and her locking herself in her room after returning home. But, much to Catherine's relief, all of that ended with the third visit. Lindsey was doing much better now, but it was still hard for her to talk about it. She'd informed everyone to try and avoid the subject, not wanting Lindsey to fall back into her fragile state of mind.

She'd come to far for her to sink back into that state again.

Catherine heard Lindsey's door open and close, and Lindsey stepped into view. She smiled, and nodded toward the door.

"Ready?" Catherine asked.

Lindsey nodded, and followed her to the car.

XX

_3:57 p.m._

Sara sat on the back porch of her and Grissom's house. It had only been about three weeks since the abduction. She couldn't believe how fast time had gone by, and how well she was feeling.

She could finally walk around the house without feeling a dull pain in her abdomen every time she took a step.

She could finally stretch her arms out and not feel like she was being stabbed with tiny little needles.

She could finally take in deep breathes without it feeling as though her ribs were poking out of her skin.

And, she could finally be intimate with her husband again-something she'd discovered a few days ago, and many times since.

Much like Lindsey, her physical recovery from the abduction was going well.

All that was left were some small bruises along her stomach; which didn't even hurt anymore, and the two gashes on her forehead had healed well and the stitches had already been removed. All that remained of them were two small cuts.

All she needed to do now was go back to work; which she would be doing on Monday.

Part of her couldn't wait to get back.

She wanted to be surrounded by the blue walls of the lab which she'd become so comfortable in. She wanted to put her brain back to work; crossword puzzles wouldn't work forever, no matter what Grissom said. And, she wanted to feel the rush she always got when she put the bad guys away.

But another part of her wanted to stay home with Grissom.

This was the most time they'd spent together in months, and she hated to be away from him again. It had been hard for her to leave him in Paris when she first returned to Vegas, and she didn't want to go through that again.

But thankfully she wouldn't have to.

With the help of some old friends, Grissom managed to find a night job in Vegas, one with hours similar to hers. So, even though she was going back to work, she would be seeing much more of him. And, best of all, his new job involved plenty of bugs for him to study and observe. _Or to play with _she would often tease him.

"Sara?" Grissom called, walking out with a plate full of hamburgers, hotdogs, and, of course, veggie dogs and burgers. He set on the grill, then joined her.

"Cath and the others will be here…" he glanced at his watch, "… Any minute. Is there anything you need before they get here?"

"No," she looked up at him and smiled, appreciating his offer. He'd been nothing short of an angel to her throughout her recovery. It didn't matter how big or how small her request was, he still did it. It didn't matter how many times she told him "I'm fine," or, "I can do it myself," or, "you don't have to," because there weren't many things he enjoyed more than spoiling his wife.

He leaned in and kissed her. As if on cue, Hank darted from his dog house, and jumped up the stairs, landing on the couple, knocking them onto their backs. Both burst into laughter, and Hank continued to lick at their faces.

"Ew! C'mon, buddy," Sara chuckled, wiping the drool off her face as Grissom pushed Hank off of them, scratching behind the boxer's ear as he did so. Hank pawed at him and licked his hand.

Sara heard the doorbell ring from the other side of the house.

"You, uuh… want me to get it?" She giggled as Hank pounced on Grissom, managing to knock him back onto his bottom.

"Could you, please?" Grissom responded, attempting to push the dog off of him.

Her pace quickened when the doorbell rang again. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" She called in a mock annoyed tone.

The door hadn't been open for more than five seconds before she had Greg's arms wrapped around her neck. Behind him, she could see Nick, Brass, Catherine, and Lindsey.

"I missed you too, Greg." She laughed as his grip tightened.

"Ok, Greggo, my turn." Laughed Nick, who was moving closer to the door.

"You say it like I'm a video game." Sara laughed as she left Greg's embrace, only to be pulled into another by Nick.

"Okay, boys," came Brass's voice, "make room, you're blocking the door."

"Where's Dr. Ray?" Sara asked, looking over Catherine's shoulder.

"He said he thought that it would be nice if the 'old team' should get back together," Nick answered, "we said it didn't matter, but he insisted."

"Plus," he said after a pause, "He said he'd treat you to something special later." he winked at Sara as he joined Greg, Brass, and Grissom on the back porch.

"So," Sara started, facing Lindsey, "how you holdin' up?"

"Better," Lindsey answered with a sigh.

Sara knew that it was best not ask anything else that had anything to with what had happened. "Well," she began, making room for them to enter, "the party's in the back."

The three walked to the backyard, where they found Nick and Greg roughhousing with Hank in the yard, and Brass helping Grissom with the food.

"How's the food, chef?" Catherine teased.

"You'll find out shortly." Grissom replied, handing her a plate of grilled hotdogs. "Mind setting these on the table?"

"Not a problem." She said as she walked back inside.

In a matter of minutes, the food was done and everyone was back inside, either washing their hands or setting the table, while Hank stared at them from outside.

"Don't worry about him," Sara said when Greg asked if they should let him in, "he'll be eating whatever we don't." Even though she sounded like she was fine with it, she secretly hated it when he looked at them like that, it made her feel guilty.

It wasn't long before everyone was seated, filling up their plates with food.

"So, Sara," Nick began, squirting ketchup on his hotdog, "lookin' forward to coming back to work?"

"Yes!" She answered without hesitation.

"I don't care what he says," she pointed at Grissom, "but crossword puzzles won't keep me entertained all-day-everyday."

"What's wrong with crossword puzzles?" Grissom asked innocently, bringing low fits of giggles from the rest of the group.

"Speaking of," Catherine jumped in, looking at Grissom, "are you excited about your new job?"

He nodded, taking a bit of his hotdog. "But," he said after swallowing, "probable _not _the best thing to talk about at the dinner table."

A low grumble of 'ews' echoed the room.

"Well, either way," Nick wiped his mouth with a napkin, "it's great to have you back in Vegas, Griss."

"Good to be back."

The rest of the afternoon went on just like that. Old friends carrying on conversations, smiling and laughing with one another. It lasted this way long after the food was gone (or in Hank's bowl) and a few hours into the night. But at close to eleven p.m., everyone was gone, and Grissom and Sara were in bed.

"Are you happy that you're going back?" Grissom asked, she nodded into his shoulder.

"But it'll be bittersweet." She looked up at him, "I'll miss you."

"I'll still be here," he pulled her closer, "I'll just be working."

She smiled and closed her eyes. Her life was about to start over again. She'd wondered over the past few weeks, why she'd been able to recover -mentally- so much better than she had with the Natalie incident. Perhaps, it was because she wasn't alone in that cabin, or that she was focused more on Lindsey and not herself.

She'd come up with many other reasons, but wasn't sure about any of them.

The only important thing, but that they were both home, and safe again.

It was completely over now.

No more worries, no more fear, and no more tears.

Brian was never going to hurt them again.

Every time she saw Lindsey, she was reminded that they almost didn't make it. But they did. Both of them were fighters, together they proved to be more than their kidnappers could handle.

Sara wasn't going to be a victim again, no.

She was going to be a survivor.

**The End**

**Note: I would like to thank the people who stayed with the story 'till the end. Really, you all are what made me look forward to posting each chapter. I hope you've enjoyed this as much as I've enjoyed writing it. I already have the idea for my next story, but if you have any ideas, feel free to tell me!**


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